Myanmar Vote Has Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party Confident of Many Seats

November 9, 2015 9:12 AM

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YANGON, Myanmar — The opposition party of the Nobel Peace laureate and longtime political prisoner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday that it was confident that it had won large numbers of seats in the country’s landmark nationwide elections, while the ruling military-backed party acknowledged its poor showing.

Results were still being tabulated on Monday, but a number of powerful members of the military establishment in Myanmar conceded defeat, including former senior military officers who were among the most prominent members of the ruling party.

But it also portends a troubled and uncertain transition for Myanmar, and a dilemma for the military-backed government that until now has tried to manage the path away from isolation and dictatorship on its own terms. “Nationwide, we got over 70 percent,” said U Win Htein, a senior member of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. He cautioned that the results were not yet official, but added, “We can call this a landslide victory.”

The American Embassy had teams of observers in every state and region of the country on Sunday. In a carefully worded congratulatory statement, Secretary of State John Kerry warned that “a peaceful postelection period is crucial for stability” and for the political transition.

By the end of the day Monday, the election commission had announced the votes for only 54 of the 644 seats in Parliament. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, won 49 of them.

The first official results released on Monday afternoon showed the opposition nearly sweeping seats in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Even a torrential downpour could not bring down the spirits of a crowd of opposition supporters, who cheered and sang as they watched the results on a giant TV screen outside the party’s headquarters here.

By the end of the day Monday, the election commission had announced the votes for only 54 of the 664 seats in Parliament. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, won 49 of them.

The election was primarily a contest between the military elites and the democracy movement that the former generals persecuted for more than two decades. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was while the military was in control, emerging as a national democracy hero. The election has unleashed a flurry of emotion among her supporters, many of whom were jailed during military rule. Voting was largely peaceful.

“You should never underestimate the people’s desire,” said U Khin Maung Yi, a member of the opposition who defeated a powerful incumbent, U Htay Oo, the chairman of the ruling party, for his seat in the Irrawaddy Delta. “It is clear that people voted for us because they believe we can bring hope and change for them.”

This time seems different, although how different remains to be seen. Unlike in 1990, Myanmar, the former British colony once known as Burma, is increasingly engaged with the world, including with the United States, which has invested considerable political capital and closely watched the unfolding transition toward democracy.

Landslide was the term used to describe the outcome the last time Myanmar had a free election, a quarter of a century ago, when Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi led democratic forces to a victory over the military’s proxies, winning 80 percent of the seats in Parliament.

And a number of powerful members of the military establishment conceded defeat, including former senior military officers who were among the most prominent figures in the quasi-civilian government that has been in power since 2011.

YANGON, Myanmar — After struggling against the heavy hand of the Burmese military for two and a half decades, the opposition party of the Nobel Peace laureate said Monday that it was confident of a sweeping victory in the country’s landmark nationwide elections.

If the results of the election are respected by the current government and the military, it will be the first time in more than five decades that voters in Myanmar have been able to choose their leaders freely.

Across the country, a number of powerful members of the military establishment in conceded defeat, including former senior military officers who were among the most prominent members of the ruling party.